Antisplash construction for footwear



Oct.19, 1948. I c, wALPER 2,452,028

ANTISPLASH CONSTRUCTION FOR FOOTWEAR Filed July 10, 1945 0072K f/OZ 6mm O/ A/a Pf/P Patented Oct. 19,. 1948 ANrrsrLAsn-ooNs'rRuc'rIoN. Fore.

:Foo'rWEAR Curry OraWalpenfKitcheneryOntario, Canada .Application'fiulydm 1 This invention relates to improvementsinheels of footwear wherewith the water attracted to the'heelfiand raised with the' heel fromvwetlsurfacesis castifrom the heel in a direction away from the opposite'leig. r i

"Referenceds madeto" my. previous Patents 2,33lj0621of October 5, 19.43 (Case 1),; 23959216 of May 16, 1944 (Case Z) $2,380,349. of .Julylo; 1945 '(Casel3) and12g3951597 'of'February 26,21946 (Case 4) and my application No.1 539,521 (Case 5); now abandonedf! I f I Theexact causalor the theory of..the.}.exact source oflthedeposit. on the backs of legshas long .been a controversial dispute I""cla'imIhav-- ingcisolatedgbothi the cause .an-dthe source .of it by perseverin'g experiment and a series oilexh'austive tests, as Well as vhavingoriginated.the means of obviating the deposit. 'I'he causeil'and. source have been fully set 'iorthi'n the specificationsof my previous inventions, andso hednot be further discussed." I j g Each of my inventions. performs ,well per =se, when worn by, persons who walk normally ii. e.,. with the median line. 'of'theirieet, substantially. parallel to' the. path, and-by certain. of'thosenwho walk in the. manner known astoeingQout... Thesev two types of Walkers will be'referred tohereinafter as normals and toers-out,. respectively.

As can be well understood, it is not an. easy matter to detect by observation exactly what happens to. the drip pickedupby the-feet, that. is to say,where all of "it goes. Similarly. itislno easy matter to-observe exactly where thedeposit which accumulates-on the back of. legs originates. The researcher would'have to be scientifically equipped; say with an elaborate arrangement .ofi slow motion photography; and withipe'rhapsa robot as a subject, in order to provide the point; and even'then it might iaillin.:expected/revela= tions. I Consequently, I have had to rely' ,first on theory, next on experiment, and finally on result.

One thing that I have discovered islthatt'here. are an incalculable numberofidifferent types a species of walking in each 'of; the main separable classes, 1. e., the toers-outfthe.normalsiand the toers-in. Again, itf would' take slow motionl eqfiipmentto "record "even some. .of "these ,class species, and then we could perhaps go on. and on. indefinitely, and finally iticould' be well nighinir.

possible to type all of'them, or even to sub-group} them. I

"Here it can'be mentioned;ihowev.er,,.that. 'persons who; t'oe-in'do not requiren'anyof miteq i r- 945,..SerialNos-604,198 r, rename. (ones- 70) foot is pitched heel unjafter. br eakirig.,,'contaot with the ground .the edgeof .theheel .whereeth breastv and the tbottoinof the tread ,join Lis Ede-1 clined toward .Ithe outerside of the.foot,j and hence the driprunsdoWn that edge by .molecular adhesion and is discharged on the .side'of {the heel opposite .the' sideiadia'cent. its mate: such edge may well lbe', termed a. conduction; or, con-- ductor edge, and henceforth .willbe so. Qcalle'd. Normals are. taken. care ,of .in earlier intrene tions. Contrary to toers in, toers-outnobyiouslyjdef. cline the conductor edge. inwardly, or towardsthe mate; and the degree of. declination variesnot only according to .that'of the .toeeouti butalso accordi'ngto thejde'gree .oi-th'e twist duringlthe heel uprpitch of the; feet; ,whi-ohlis. foundlto. vary considerably in 'a group, of fpersons. .all having substantially the same degree oftoeeout. .jlivhile all toers-out then x have an, inwardly directed declivity,, some. of .'the,. declivit ies are -.gentlewhile others'vary upitothequite precipitous.

.The .toers-outwhose manner .or. walking .pro-.

, duces agentle fde'cliviity to. the aforesaid .Iedga.

or one whichwouldjbe considered noreoriless. normal for atoer-out, have be'eniprovidedifor by my. structures according to, ..C'ases..2, 3 and .4 in which the drip is .castfrom..the. inner or; low for"v ward corner. of th'e .heel. parallel with the path or,.in other words, .r i ot..obliquely;in.the direction. of the pa'thofj its mate .as.withlconventional. toot wear. But .'in.;circumstances ot toers-out, whose quite. vcommo'nQcharacteristic oi effecting a precipitous declivityrj precludes-v. the successful-operatjionpoi my .previousflstructures,in that'the drip flows. mama. and .as ,a, consequence-gravity beats. molecular adhesion. so -.to .sp.eak, I; ;have 'devised a structure forndire cting .thefi drip' tortheaopposite or router. side .otthe; heel where: it: is .cast ,ongthe outside instead cfthe innerside -nearest its mate exactlyjjin ,thesam.e. manner as toersin dis charge. their; drip, when equipped "with loony-em. ti'onal -footwear .and. hence make no offensive depositJf X "The object of the present invention isato pro-.

vide in footwear wornbmtoers-out and wherein the. conductor edge would normallyudecline {towardlthe.mate.. durin g-the heel nip-pitch! of the. I f 0011,. ,a .formation whereby -=that;-.,edgenaturally. declines in Lthe.opposite direction; or army;frorrnv the mate.

With, the. ,above; and, other objects? in 1 view, as

will be hereinafter I apparent, ..-,theinvention con.-

sistshin general of certaimmoyeL-detaflsaot con-.1

struction and combinations of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and specifically claimed.

In the accompanying drawings like characters of reference indicate like parts in the several views, and:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a heel constructed in accordance with the present invention, the view being the inner side, or the right hand side of the heel for an article of footwear for wear on the left foot, and showing acertain extended portion.

Figure 2 is an opposite or outer side view of the structure of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a front elevationof the same showg LU." 415.

plan, view taken on thew.

ing the heel breast.

Figure 4 is a sectional line 4-4 of Figure 2. I t H v Figure 5 is a partial rear and outer side per spective view as seen after the left foot has broken' contact with the ground and pitched to the rear? Figured isa view similar to Figure 2 of a modi; fied form of the invention. jf

Figure 7 is an elevation ofthe inner side Of'ei. heel shqwinga modified form of theinvention. Figure 8 is a bottom'view of Figure'l. j, E

iln the drawing IO' indicates a 'heeland H, the shank portion of an overshoejor the like, 7 The breast of the heel has a tongue like porf tion i2 which extends infa'dvance of the plane of the breast and spacedfrjomor free of the shank portion 1 The bottom or treadsurfaceof the extended portion is preferably on a. plane common wih thatofthe heel. L l

The' tip- Hit of the"tongu'e-likeportion I2 is offset from the median lineof the article of foot:

wearwell to the'outer sidethere'of, andf'the con ductor edge l2b which is formediby the juncture of the breast andthe heel bottom or tread sweeps froinflthe forwardfinner. corner' llla of the heel t the tip 12a.

"T'I'hee'dg'e lzb forms for the drip I from all parts or surfaces of the heel." The drip water drains from th'e'upper reaches of the heel to its lower margins, then when the" foot is pitched" eel up afterjbreakingfwithtlie ground tolthepositionin Figure 5 the water runs down theibottom of "the heel "by molecular adhesion in defiance of gravity" clean to the conductor'edgc'. I26. 'It isto be understood that ,when'the heel, is lifted fremthe ground" it iS}' l'Ii an u loaded condition and whenever hereafter ,in the 'specifi; cation and claims the unloaded condition of the heel is referred to it'is'ofithe ground. j -As it reaches that edge the casepf a normally formedheelit is conducted byit"toward .which-f ever forward corner-"of "the heel 'is lowermostj similarly by molecular adhesion; and the water is cast fr'o'nfthat particular corner. j From an observation of Figure 5 it will be evi dent that the water; will drain t war -the outer sideand be cast from the tip 'lmffl'lhus'the' drainage" is conductedto the side of the foot'- Wear'which'is opposite to theUside nearestfits" mategthis notwithstanding the fact that the heel is actually tilted toward its mate, or toward the innerside. j

=-The angle of the edgeformed bythe juncture of'the breast andtlie tread surface of a conventional heel, and which runs 'towardthe inner corner of the heel when the foot isjupypitched; isindicated by the dot-and-daslt-linel 2a, falsoin Figure 5. V v

-Fo'r s ome types of wefs-ouv-nis roun ,eXbe'dient --to provide" a '"declivi'ty to" the bottom of the heel tread (this dec'livit'y' being co iside y d as such when compared to the substantially parallel planes of the bottom of the heel tread and the heel saddle or seat of a conventionally formed overshoe) running from the rear of the heel to the tip of the extended portion whereby the drainage is directed along the tread bottom to the tip immediately the footwear breaks with the ground, Such a declivity is noticeable in all the elevational figures, but is particularly noticeable in Figure 1 wherein it is indicated by 10?), inasmuch as in this view its surface appears in perspective form.

1 As in Case 3 (where the tread declivity, how- *when the heel is put to the ground under the gweight of the wearer the foot will not be thrown out of normal vertical posture, the thickness of the diiferentiakfrom normal or level is preferably built down by a wedge l3 of relatively elastic and compressible material or a layer l3a (Figure 6) of similar material, which reforms itself on the shifting of the load to the opposite foot.

In the modified formof my invention shown in Figures and 8 a conductor edge i4 is pro-' vided bystepping up a diagonal portion l 5 of the front of an otherwise conventionally shaped or proportioned heel tread. While this form of my present invention may be said to be more particularly for toers-outefiectingaf'more or less gentle inwardly directed declivity, it has also been found in at least some instances to take care of those whose declivity isrelatively precipitous, and more often when in addition the bottom of the heel is declined as sometimes with the use of the tongue-like deformation of the breast, and as it is also indicated at IS in Figtires 7 and 8. i

There has thus been provided a simple and efficient device of the kind described and for the purpose specified. v

It is obvious that minor changes may be made in the form and construction of the invention without departing from the material spirit thereof. It isnot, however, desired to confine the inventionto the exact form herein shown and described, but it is desired to include all such as properly come within the scope claimed.

Iclaimz- I 1. In a heel for footwear, a conductor for directionally influencing molecularly adhered drip drainage across the heel substantially from the inner to the outer side thereof, consisting of a def orm'ation o'f the, heel breast characterized by the lower portion thereof extending. in advance of its normal plane as a-tongue and free of the shank portion of the footwear, said extended portion running'in an oblique. sweep substantially from the inner to the outer side so that'the tip of said extended portion lies. in the region of the outer side of the'footwe'an 2, The device as defined in claim 1 wherein the plane of the heel tread and said extended portion inclines forwardly and downwardly from the rear towards the tip of the extended, portion in an unloaded conditionf 3 3; Footwear including" treadportion, said portion extending as a tongue in'advance of the plane of fthe'heel breast and free 'of the shank portion of the footwear, said extended portion running in an oblique sweep from the inner cornerof footwear, said extended portion inclining' forwardly and downwardly from the rear towards ,a hollowlheel and heel wardly and downwardly from the rear towards thei tip of said extended portion in an unloaded condition.

CURRY ORA WALPER.

REFERENCES CITED following references are of record in the file of this patent:

FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain Apr. 4, 1929 Nuznber 

